Painting and decorating RAMS template

A painting and decorating RAMS should explain the actual surface, preparation method, products, access and sequence for a particular job. Copy the form below, complete its blank fields and remove tasks that do not apply. A domestic room repaint with water-based paint is not the same job as stripping an old coating, spraying a large ceiling or working beside occupants. The template is a prompt for a competent assessment, not permission to start work.

The risk assessment identifies hazards, people affected and controls. The method statement explains how those controls will be put into practice, step by step. A client or principal contractor may ask for a combined RAMS. The general Complys RAMS template covers the document structure; this page supplies decorating-specific questions and a copyable work sequence. The existing decorating RAMS guide owns the broader explanation and worked example. Keep this page focused on a usable form.

Decide what the assessment covers

Describe the exact work: substrate, condition and age of existing finishes; internal or external location; surface area; preparation such as sanding or stripping; filler and primer; paint or coating; brush, roller or spray method; access equipment; other trades; occupants; and the work period. Identify the client/site controller and who can stop work. Check the product labels and safety data sheets. If a product or technique changes, the COSHH and task controls may also change.

Before disturbing old finishes, determine whether the building or component could contain lead-containing paint, asbestos-containing material or another hazardous coating. Do not assume the age or appearance proves a material safe. An asbestos survey and a competent lead assessment may be needed before destructive work. If the information is missing, pause the disturbing step and obtain it. HSE's painters' health guidance identifies exposure routes including lead, asbestos, dust, solvents and other substances.

Plan access from the actual working height and duration. Can the work be done from the floor or with an extension tool? If not, select appropriate access equipment after assessing the task, ground, reach, movement and rescue arrangements. Do not make a ladder the default platform for prolonged two-handed work. Keep other people away from the area below and protect openings, fragile surfaces and traffic routes. A decorator working in an occupied property needs boundaries that protect residents and visitors as well as the crew.

Copy-and-complete job details

The controls must be chosen from the real product and site, not copied mechanically from the examples in brackets. PPE is usually a supporting measure after exposure has been reduced at source. Tight-fitting respiratory protection requires an appropriate selection, fit testing and use arrangements; a generic dust mask line is not an adequate COSHH decision.

Method statement: adapt the sequence

1. Confirm and brief. Verify scope, surveys, product sheets, access plan, site rules, emergency arrangements and other work in the area. Explain stop-work conditions. Record who was briefed.
2. Prepare the area. Agree the work boundary with the site controller. Protect furniture, finishes and services. Segregate residents, staff, visitors and other trades. Confirm lighting, power, ventilation and escape routes.
3. Inspect surfaces and make the old-coating decision. Compare the work area with survey information. Do not sand, burn, scrape or cut an unidentified suspect material. Escalate unexpected material or contamination.
4. Set up access and tools. Inspect selected equipment, establish stable positioning and manage leads and hoses. Reposition rather than overreach. Check any extraction and RPE before dusty work.
5. Prepare surfaces. Use the least dusty suitable method. Capture dust at source where needed; clean with a suitable vacuum or damp method, not dry sweeping. Follow product-specific controls for chemical stripping and filler use.
6. Mix and apply products. Confirm the actual paint, primer, thinner, adhesive or coating against the COSHH assessment. Choose a lower-exposure product or application method where practicable. Maintain ventilation and prevent public access. If spraying is proposed, use a separate spray control plan and competent setup; this generic sequence alone is insufficient.
7. Inspect, cure and hand over. Protect wet surfaces, communicate ventilation and re-entry conditions, remove waste safely and check no tools, materials or barriers are left in unsafe positions. Record defects, changes and any residual restrictions for the client.

For high-solvent spraying, HSE explains that exposure depends on product, method and ventilation; its spraying guidance identifies possible mechanical or local extraction, segregation, RPE and fire controls. Spraying into an enclosed space or using a highly hazardous product demands a task-specific assessment and possibly specialist input. Airless spray equipment also creates a skin-injection hazard if the tip is not properly guarded. Do not treat brush/roller and spray application as interchangeable in the same RAMS.

A short example of how the template changes

For a daylight repaint of a modern office, the site-specific controls might focus on occupant separation, surface preparation dust, safe access to a high wall, ventilation while a named water-based product dries and an agreed reopening time. For repainting a period stairwell, the assessment must first establish what old coatings and building materials may be disturbed; it must also address complex access and escape routes. The same checked boxes would be inappropriate for both jobs.

If the contractor later changes from rollers to solvent-based spray, stop and revise the assessment, method, COSHH controls, ventilation, exclusion zone, equipment and briefing. A supervisor's verbal instruction is not a safe substitute for documenting that material change.

Approval, review and useful links

Record the assessor, supervisor, client/site controller approval where required, version, briefing date and crew acknowledgement. Reassess after a change of material, surface, preparation method, access, weather, people affected or incident. Keep the relevant survey and COSHH evidence with the RAMS. A signed template cannot prove that extraction is working or that a suspect coating is safe to disturb; check the controls on site.

Use the verified RAMS pillar for general document guidance and the risk assessment software page for the product route. CTA: adapt this worksheet to the actual decorating job, have a competent person review it, brief the crew and retain the approved version in the organisation's verified workflow. Do not claim that Complys has independently tested a coating, approved a COSHH assessment, supplied extraction or automatically authorised work. The exact product features, route and canonical host need repository verification before publication.

Source, claim and writer-side QA register

Intent/cannibalisation: template worksheet, distinct from the live decorating RAMS explainer, general RAMS template and decorator money page. No exact indexed Complys template owner observed on 5 October 2026; check repo/in-flight owners. Product truth: no unsupported workflow or commercial claim. Links: live RAMS pillar, decorating guide, general template and money page observed; canonical host to verify. Jurisdiction: GB; NI legal review separate. Writer-side QA: copyable form, site-specific adaptation, material uncertainty, sources, metadata, internal links and stop-work conditions checked. Competent site, product and canonical publication review remains.